"Lonely Too Long" is a song written by

Bill Rice Wilburn Steven "Bill" Rice (April 19, 1939 – October 28, 2023) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Rice charted six singles between 1971 and 1978, including the Top 40 hit "Travelin' Minstrel Man", but is better known for his ...

Sharon Vaughn Mary Sharon Vaughn (born May 2, 1947) is an American songwriter who was previously based in Sweden. She has written hits for artists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Keith W ...

and Mike Lawler, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

. It was released in August 1996 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

as the third single from her eighth album, '' The Trouble with the Truth'' (1996). It charted for 20 weeks on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart, reaching No. 1 during the week of November 16, 1996. The song was originally recorded by

Doug Stone Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He debuted in 1990 with the single " I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epi ...

, whose version was never released.

Critical reception

Reviews of the song were positive.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' magazine noted that Loveless' voice "exudes a variety of emotion on this well-written tune". Wendy Newcomer from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' wrote, "Loveless' delicate explanation of "the morning after" is as inviting and seductive as the night before in 'Lonely Too Long'. ''Well good morning/Tell me how did you sleep last night/You're still smiling/So we must have done something right...'' With a voice as honest and forthcoming and Loveless', listeners will find it hard to turn her away."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1996 singles 1995 songs Patty Loveless songs Songs written by Bill Rice Songs written by Sharon Vaughn Song recordings produced by Emory Gordy Jr. Epic Records singles